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Canucks Army THE GAME DAY – Canucks @ Wild

Photo credit: © Brace Hemmelgarn | 2020

By Always90four

Feb 6, 2020, 15:00 ESTUpdated: Feb 6, 2020, 19:31 EST

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THE INTRO

Tonight the Canucks come into Minnesota looking to rebound from a pathetic showing against the Bruins. They’ll have their work cut out for them as the Wild have a one-game win streak going. Plain and simple, the Canucks need to be better. They have shown they are capable of being a playoff team and they’ve let two games slip away.

Vancouver’s power play is beyond awful and it reeks of old socks. Travis Green needs to re-invent the wheel and try something else or someone else on both units.

The Wild aren’t a spectacular team but they have a pretty solid home record at 15-7-4. This isn’t a freebie in any way.

Let’s Do This!™

WHAT ARE THE ODDS?

The odds for tonight’s game are: (VAN +105/ MIN -125) courtesy of OddShark.com

TV / RADIO / PUCK DROP

SNP / SN 650 / 5:00 PM

LINEUPS

Based on Brendan Batchelor’s tweet, the Canucks have some decisions to make for tonight’s game. Green has Pearson and MacEwen subbing on the Horvat line, Brandon Sutter and Justin Bailey swapped rushes and Jamie Benn was with Nolan Baumgartner. Don’t expect that last pairing to stick.

Tyler Motte is still out, so is Josh Leivo.

Markstrom starts as per the graphic below.

Canucks lines courtesy of Dailyfaceoff.com:

LW	C	RW	Forwards
TANNER PEARSON Rating: 74.3#36 LW	BO HORVAT Rating: 76.1#32 C	LOUI ERIKSSON Rating: 70.3#105 RW	FL1 Rating Rating: 73.54#27 FL1
J.T. MILLER Rating: 77.8#16 LW	ELIAS PETTERSSON Rating: 78.6#12 C	BROCK BOESER Rating: 75.0#25 RW	FL2 Rating Rating: 77.12#3 FL2
ANTOINE ROUSSEL Rating: 70.9#103 LW	ADAM GAUDETTE Rating: 70.7#139 C	JAKE VIRTANEN Rating: 73.7#41 RW	FL3 Rating Rating: 71.77#18 FL3
TIM SCHALLER Rating: 68.3#135 LW	JAY BEAGLE Rating: 67.8#186 C	BRANDON SUTTER Rating: 71.1#123 RW	FL4 Rating Rating: 69.09#30 FL4

DEFENSIVE PAIRINGS	Defense
ALEXANDER EDLER Rating: 74.5#24 LD	TROY STECHER Rating: 71.3#83 RD	DL1 Rating Rating: 72.88#25 DL1
QUINN HUGHES Rating: 76.6#8 LD	CHRIS TANEV Rating: 72.4#57 RD	DL2 Rating Rating: 74.54#5 DL2
OSCAR FANTENBERG Rating: 71.2#94 LD	TYLER MYERS Rating: 73.9#30 RD	DL3 Rating Rating: 72.56#13 DL3

GOALIES
JACOB MARKSTROM Rating: 71.8#8 G1

Canucks are winning this one. Minnesota is looking ahead already.

Hockey Wilderness

@hockeywildernes

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Tape Rewind: How the Wild can find success again against the Stars Let’s revisit Minnesota’s 7-0 blowout of Dallas from January 18 ahead of their next matchup later this week. hockeywilderness.com/2020/2/5/21123…

4:01 PM · Feb 5, 2020

Read more on X

Wild lines courtesy of Dailyfaceoff.com:

LW	C	RW	Forwards
ZACH PARISE Rating: 75.2#28 LW	ERIC STAAL Rating: 75.9#34 C	MATS ZUCCARELLO Rating: 74.0#37 RW	FL1 Rating Rating: 75.06#20 FL1
JASON ZUCKER Rating: 74.5#33 LW	LUKE KUNIN Rating: 72.3#91 C	KEVIN FIALA Rating: 72.2#80 RW	FL2 Rating Rating: 72.99#23 FL2
JORDAN GREENWAY Rating: 71.8#88 LW	JOEL ERIKSSON EK Rating: 71.4#116 C	MARCUS FOLIGNO Rating: 72.0#83 RW	FL3 Rating Rating: 71.72#19 FL3
RYAN DONATO Rating: 72.9#75 LW	MIKKO KOIVU Rating: 71.0#128 C	RYAN HARTMAN Rating: 71.7#74 RW	FL4 Rating Rating: 71.89#3 FL4

DEFENSIVE PAIRINGS	Defense
RYAN SUTER Rating: 75.9#9 LD	JARED SPURGEON Rating: 76.0#12 RD	DL1 Rating Rating: 75.94#5 DL1
JONAS BRODIN Rating: 73.0#52 LD	MATHEW DUMBA Rating: 74.3#24 RD	DL2 Rating Rating: 73.68#13 DL2
CARSON SOUCY Rating: 71.9#81 LD	BRAD HUNT Rating: 72.3#65 RD	DL3 Rating Rating: 72.09#17 DL3

GOALIES
ALEX STALOCK Rating: 62.5#66 G1

GAME NOTES AND A STAT OR TWO

Jake Virtanen is putting together a career year and he’s been the deciding factor six times this season. Jake is two GWG back of Leon Draisaitl for the NHL lead. Six of his 15 goals were game-winners. He also has 11 even-strength goals on the year which mean the power play hasn’t even mattered to the boy from Abbotsford. Jake Virtanen is going to have himself a game tonight.
When he’s not getting pummelled into the boards three seconds after the puck has left his stick, Elias Pettersson is drawing penalties at a rate that should make you stand up and clap. Not the slow golf clap or the kind you do when you’re not sure if you’re supposed to clap yet or wait it out, clap because Pettersson is involved so much in the play and he’s smart enough to see the results that his 24 drawn penalties are three behind fifth in the league. But the NHL doesn’t want to hear about how smart he is, they want to see him suffer apparently.
Creating power plays is what Pettersson does well, taking them is what Alex Edler excels at. Edler has 23 minor penalties this season which is just about tops in the league. Tom Wilson of Washington has 24. Edler isn’t dirty but even his watered-down ice time is putting the Canucks at a disadvantage. (Anyone else feel like Jamie Benn should get some starts about now?)
Is Brock Boeser having a bad season? He’s 11 points back of his career-high from last season and I suppose his goal total isn’t electric. Boeser will need 14 goals in his final 28 games to hit 30. It seems like a stretch but a quick tear of five goals over the next 10 games would get things started. Brock has been dormant for far too long. He’s about to break.
Jordie Benn last played against Florida on January 9. What are the Canucks doing with him? This can’t be good for him or the team. There needs to be a solution. Is Oscar Fantenberg really that much better?

#CANUCKSTWITTER

The stats don’t lie: